Brawl between players mars U.S. - China basketball friendly
A violent brawl erupted during a U.S. - China basketball friendly match in Beijing. The match was meant to be a goodwill gesture in order to promote Chinese and United States basketball ties; however the violence that ensued threatens
to overshadow all the positivity garnered through the event.
The match was played between Washington's Georgetown Hoyas and Chinese professional side, the Bayi Military Rockets. The game, which took place at Beijing’s Olympic Stadium, was testy throughout as both sides played a physical
game.
With scores tied at 64-64 and the clock winding down, a fouling incident sparked the violence. Bayi forward Hu Ke committed a hard foul on Georgetown's Jason Clark. The Georgetown player retaliated with a shove and soon everyone
else on the court joined in to create a mass melee.
Players traded blows, knocked each other down and soon the coaches joined the fracas. Some fans even charged the court and soon chairs were being thrown, and even directly used as a combat weapon. One Georgetown player was separated
from the rest and a Chinese player repeatedly punched him while sitting on his chest.
The violence was stopped after coaches stepped in and separated the two sets of players, but the mood in the arena had turned too sour by then. As the Hoyas left for the dressing room, water bottles and other missiles were thrown
at them from the crowd.
Videos showing the violence are readily available at various sites online, though the Chinese state media has failed to report the incident. The censorship is though hard to hide the fact that Chinese teams have been involved in
a very high number of violent incidents on a basketball court in the recent past and have incurred heavy fines as a result.
The brawl occurred while U.S. vice president Joe Biden was in Beijing on a state visit. Biden had attended the previous game played by Georgetown against another Chinese side.
The violence has also put Georgetown’s goodwill visit in the shadow. The university’s basketball side has been in China for a few days and is scheduled to take part in Nike Festival of Sport while there, as well as more friendly
matches in Shanghai. The team have announced that they will continue with the tour.
Georgetown’s coach John Thompson III said in a statement on Georgetown's website:
"Tonight, two great teams played a very competitive game that unfortunately ended after heated exchanges with both teams," the coach said. "We sincerely regret that this situation occurred.
"We remain grateful for the opportunity our student-athletes are having to engage in a sport they love here in China, while strengthening their understanding of a nation we respect and admire at Georgetown University."
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